10 Real-Life Models Who Served as Prototypes for the Disney Princesses

Have you ever wondered why Disney characters all look so “alive”? It’s just because the animation quality was beyond all praise, but there’s also something else here. Some of the appearance, mannerisms, and small quirks of Disney characters were taken sketching real actresses, dancers, and models! Let’s just jump into it and see how Snow White, Ariel and Jasmine look like in real life.

1. Tinkerbell – Margaret Kerry
Initially, Marilyn Monroe was supposed to model as Tinkerbell, but the studio execs chose Margaret Kerry instead. She gained fame after portraying the fairy in the 1953 Peter Pan cartoon, and even to this day, 89-year-old Margaret receives letters from her fans.

2. Rapunzel – Taylor Swift
One of the newest princesses was the golden-haired Rapunzel. Turns out Taylor Swift agreed to serve as a live model for this heroine! Who would ever say no to such a fantastic offer? Later a legendary photographer Annie Leibovitz even shot her as Rapunzel for Disney parks campaign.

3. Cinderella – Helen Stanley
After the absolute success of “Snow White” and “Pinocchio”, Disney double-downed on the female-led full-featured animated movies. Instead of sketching out the models, like before, the artists were given movie tapes where they outlined the needed moves, poses, etc., to make them more realistic.

4. Belle – Judy Garland
Let’s face it, Belle is pretty much copy-pasted Judy Garland! The animators really did a great job with her in “Beauty and the Beast”.